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Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTSE 100 Live 17 February: Sterling at two-month high, Moneysupermarket results
07:21 , Graeme Evans Moneysupermarket business Mony Group today reported record annual revenues of £439.2 million, a rise of 2% on a year earlier. The comparison site's Insurance arm rose 7% to £235.6 million, although the softening of car and home premium inflation slowed the final quarter to 2%. Home Services growth was flat in the quarter, with some improvement in energy switching helping to offset continued challenges in broadband and mobile from provider retention strategies. The Money segment was down 2% in the quarter due to fewer attractive current account deals. Borrowing continued to grow, driven by improved credit card switching volumes. Revenue from Travel fell 6% in the quarter. Operating profit for the year rose 7% to £141.8 million, with the company confident it is on track to meet 2025 City forecasts. Chief executive Peter Duffy said: 'Despite headwinds in the car insurance switching market, strength in our breadth provides us with resilience and we continue to see other opportunities for growth across the business.' A final dividend of 9.2p lifts the total for 2024 by 3% to 12.5p a share, while the group has announced a share buyback programme of up to £30 million. 07:01 , Graeme Evans Sterling is at a two-month high of $1.26 as attention turns to this week's release of jobs market, inflation, retail sales and public sector borrowing figures. The FTSE 100 index closed Friday's session 0.4% lower at 8732.46, with IG Index futures pointing to a broadly flat start this morning. On Wall Street, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite posted the best performance by adding 0.4% to extend its weekly advance to 2.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the session down 0.4% while the S&P 500 index finished slightly lower. Leading Asia markets are close to their opening marks while gold stands at $2896 an ounce and Brent Crude at $74.91 a barrel.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTSE 100 Live 11 February: BP boss promises 'new direction', blue-chip index seen lower
07:52 Dunelm chief executive Nick Wilkinson is to retire from the home furnishings business after seven years in the role. Board chair Alison Brittain said Wilkinson had been a 'tremendous leader' for Dunelm, having guided the business through a global pandemic, driven a step-change in the digital offer and maintained its 'unique, entrepreneurial culture'. She added: "Nick will continue to lead the business over the coming months as we transition to a new CEO, maintaining a focus on delivering long-term, sustainable growth for all stakeholders." The announcement came as Dunelm reported unchanged pre-tax profits of £123 million for the six months to 28 December. Total revenues lifted 2.4% to £893.7 million during a period in which the retailer boosted its market share by 30 basis points to 7.8%. The interim dividend has increased 3.1% to 16.5p a share, while the company has repeated last year's special dividend of 35p. Guidance for the full year is unchanged as the company comes to terms with April's increase in National Insurance contributions. It added: 'We have a good track record of delivering efficiencies to offset cost increases, and will continue to do so through both operational improvements and targeted longer-term productivity opportunities.' 07:18 , Graeme Evans BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss today promised a new direction for the oil giant ahead of a strategy update due later this month. Presenting the company's annual results, Auchincloss said: 'We have been reshaping our portfolio - sanctioning new major projects, and focusing our low-carbon investment - and we have made strong progress in reducing costs. 'Building on the actions taken in the last 12 months, we now plan to fundamentally reset our strategy and drive further improvements in performance, all in service of growing cash flow and returns. 'It will be a new direction for BP and we look forward to sharing it at our capital markets update on 26 February.' As part of the update, BP said it intends to review elements of its financial guidance including expectations for 2025 share buybacks and capital expenditure. It is planning another $1.75 billion share buyback in the first quarter, while it announced a dividend of eight cents for the fourth quarter. The impact of lower oil prices and weaker refining margins meant BP posted an underlying replacement cost profit of $1.17 billion for the final quarter of 2024. This compared with the previous year's $3 billion and left the total for the year sharply lower at $8.9 billion. 07:03 , Graeme Evans The FTSE 100 index is set to fall back after posting another record close last night. IG Index futures show a decline of about ten points, in line with this morning's downbeat performances by the Hang Seng index and Shanghai Composite. US markets finished in positive territory, despite fears over the inflationary impact of Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 lifted by 0.7% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1%. The gold price remains near to a record high at $2916 an ounce, while the pound is at $1.236. The FTSE 100 starts the session at 8767 after rising 0.8% yesterday, with BP shares up 7% on the back of stake building by an activist investor. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FTSE 100 Live 31 January: Index at record high, house price growth softens
07:13 , Graeme Evans The price of a typical UK home rose by 4.1% year-on-year in January, which compares with the rate of 4.7% in December. The figures published by building society Nationwide also show that house prices increased by 0.1% month-on-month, with the average price at £268,213. Its chief economist Robert Gardner said: 'The housing market continues to show resilience despite ongoing affordability pressures. 'A prospective buyer earning the average UK income and buying a typical first-time buyer property with a 20% deposit would have a monthly mortgage payment equivalent to 36% of their take-home pay – well above the long-run average of 30%.' 07:04 , Graeme Evans The FTSE 100 index is set to hold its position at a record high after adding 1% at 8647 in yesterday's session. IG Index futures point to a further rise of nine points after US markets closed in positive territory last night. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, the S&P 500 index by 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite lifted 0.3%. Apple shares were 1% lower before rallying 3% in extended hours as investors responded to figures showing record first quarter sales and 7% rise in net income.
